He and another Ghanaian man, who he met in Minneapolis, decided to flee to Canada. The two of them took a bus to Grand Forks, N.D., then flagged a cab and spent $400 for a ride to a spot near the U.S.-Canada border on Dec. 24.

"There is a big farm around the border and we passed through," said Mohammed. "It was very difficult because when we stepped in that farm, the snow was [at] our waists."